1. Field
The field of the invention is devices and systems for returning the balls used in bowling type games, more particularly such devices that simultaneously serve several of such individual game devices.
2. State of the Art
Probably all bowling type games now include some automatic means of conveying the thrown or rolled ball back to the vicinity of the player for his subsequent use, without intervention of an attendant. Representative of individual games having such ball return provisions include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,806,701, 3,458,190, 3,224,766, 3,215,433 and 2,010,213. Considerable sophistication is disclosed in the latter patent, which provides for returning particular balls to selected racks. That is, a person may be provided his own individual ball back to his playing station, although several bowling alleys may be disposed together in parallel relationship, and served by a single ball return device. However, a different problem is presented by the games wherein the balls are not individually designed, nor the games designed for a player to use only a single ball. Of the above, an example of this type of game is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,010,213, a game device in widespread use and often installed side by side in rows several games long. Players unfortunately often take balls from one game, only to roll them in other games, so that the individual ball return mechanisms at each game do not assure that all games have sufficient balls. To the knowledge of the inventor, no game ball return device for bowling type or other projectile type games has addressed this problem.